Throughout the years, an ever increasing variety of products and product areas have benefited from the use of foam plastic materials. In this regard, product manufacturers, suppliers, and/or shippers have found that foam plastic products, materials, and profiles can be employed for improving the quality of the product being produced, as well as for substantially improving the strength, rigidity and function of numerous products. Furthermore, due to the unique nature of foam plastic products and the ability of these products to be formed in various sizes, shapes, and configurations, these products have enjoyed increased acceptance and use.
As the abilities, capabilities, and versatility of foam plastic material became known to individuals and corporate entities, the popularity of foam plastic products substantially increased, along with the wide variety of product areas and purposes for which foam plastic products were employed. In this regard, foam plastic material has been used for protecting small fragile products such as those made from glass, as well as protecting large products made from metal or similar materials, such as refrigerators, stoves, and the like. In these large products, foam plastic panels are often employed to peripherally surround the product and protect the outer surfaces of the product.
In addition, foam plastic materials have also been employed in numerous other products as an integral components of the product. In this area, furniture, bedding, and mattresses have employed foam plastic materials as an integral component incorporated into the product structure itself. In this instance, foam plastic materials have proven to be effective in providing support and integrity to the product as a replacement for components which are more expensive and more difficult to employ.
In this regard, foam plastic material has been employed in mattress constructions as a replacement for other materials or for improved constructions. In particular, foam plastic materials have been used as side supports for mattresses and the use of foamed polymer side supports for mattresses has brought considerable benefits for both the bed manufacturer and the consumer. In general, side supports surround the entire perimeter of the mattress.
One benefit of incorporating side support systems on mattresses is the ability of the side support to change the characteristics of the edges of a mattress so that they are different from those of the main sleeping surface. For example, the side supports help prevent “roll-off” (the phenomenon whereby the softness of a mattress or cushion, causes it to compress so that when a person sits or lies on the edge, they tend to fall off). Their presence also extends the effective sleep surface of a bed by some 10-15%. An additional benefit is to provide improved aesthetic appearance around the vertical border of a mattress (for example both spring based and air-filled mattresses), giving it tighter and crisper corners. With the exception of some of their lower priced products, all bed manufacturers use some form of edge support.
Side support systems in commercial use are made from foamed polyurethane or from foamed polyolefines. The foamed polyurethane systems are typically in the form of rectangular blocks laid out in a rectangle surrounding a mattress, or can be foamed in place as a single part surrounding the springs. The decision on which side support system to use depends on factors such as cost, weight, compression resistance, resilience, ease of manufacture and odor and moisture adsorption.
A problem with the loose blocks of foam (typically polyurethane) is restraining them accurately during the manufacturing process of the mattress. They have to remain in place during the subsequent manufacturing operations of adding sleep surface layers and wrapping the bed in fabric, including flame retardant layers, and then sewing. These problems are exacerbated as the foam density is decreased because the weight of each side support component is reduced, making them extremely difficult to hold in position. Such products are therefore typically restricted to systems that are assembled by the consumer, such as Select Comfort's Sleep Number 5000 beds.
Some manufacturers have overcome this problem with assembly by adding multiple “keys” welded at right angles to the side support. These keys push snugly between the metal springs, to hold the side support securely in place during the manufacturing process and subsequent use as a mattress. Although these keys work very well, they are applied in a secondary operation (welding or gluing) and also have the disadvantage that the side supports do not pack closely because the pieces are kept apart by the keys. This reduced packing efficiency increases warehousing and transport costs significantly. A typical side support system using keys consists of four foamed parts that together completely surround the perimeter of the mattress. The pieces are not joined together but are held securely in place by the keys described above.
The continued requirement for marketing appeal, product cost reduction and performance improvement, combined with reduced manufacturing complexity has motivated the search for alternative systems for side support. There is also a trend to increase the width of the side support to provide more comfort and an improved performance (softness, feel, absence of the harder edge resulting from the springs) to the edge of the mattress.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a side support system which incorporates a plurality of separate and independent side forming elements or segments which are constructed for being quickly and easily mounted peripherally surrounding a mattress assembly while simultaneously being securely affixed to each other.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of separate and independent side forming elements/segments which are quickly and easily mounted in secure, locked interengagement without requiring extensive or expensive manual labor.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a side support system which is capable of being shipped in a small, compact area or package, while also being easily removed from said package and mounted to the desired mattress assembly.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a side support system which is capable of being manufactured efficiently and economically, for enabling the entire side support system to be manufactured and assembled at highly competitive costs.
Other and more specific objects will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.